Perhaps THE greatest Quincy Jones album of the 60s – a hard-swinging batch of big band bossa tunes – and one of the greatest American takes on the bossa sound ever! Quincy really brings a lot of soul to the set – syncopating the bottom end of the tunes to really bring out the rhythms, and working with a jazzy flourish of horns that creates all these quick and clever little turns in the tunes! The sound's been heard most famously on the incredible track "Soul Bossa Nova" – an original by Quincy for the set, which has gone onto much greater fame through its use in the film Austin Powers, and a bazillion TV commercials! But the whole album's great too – and other tracks include "Serenata", "Lalo Bossa Nova", "Boogie Bossa Nova", and "Chega De Saudade". (Jazz, Now Sound) CD

Way more than just the usual snoozer you might expect from Clebanoff – thanks to a good dose of bossa in the mix! The style here is still heavy on the strings, as in the usual Clebanoff mode – but the overall arrangements are also considerably lighter, and trade previous romantic shadings for a breezier Brazilian mode – one that's carried off by lots of lightly snapping percussion at the bottom, and some great instrumental touches on guitar, vibes, and just a bit of flute! In a way, the record's almost a bridge between the older American and European instrumental style of the 50s and some of the new orchestrations that were being penned in Brazil in the 60s – a key early example of that influence on these shores, and featuring tunes that include "Land Of My Land", "Poinciana", "O Passaro", "Jazz Samba", "Mima", and Lalo Schifrin's "Whispering Bossa Nova". LP, Vinyl record album